


One More Day

by Yami_Kada7



Series: Link Down [4]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: A Lot of Headcanons Here, Babies, Day 4, Dramatic Irony, I went more young child with this one, OOC Yusaku, VRAINS Week 2019, VRLink14, he doesn't like being alone, so sweet it's sad, yusaku likes having something to work on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-07-07 22:50:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19859314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yami_Kada7/pseuds/Yami_Kada7
Summary: Spectre once said that Yusaku must have had a happy childhood. It was never ideal, but he worked hard to make it better.





	One More Day

**Author's Note:**

> This piece is going to have a few headcanons of mine that didn't make it to the first day's prompt. So just be warned that Yusaku is really smart for his age.

Yusaku clutched the slips of paper in his pocket, running down the street. The path was bright with color instead of light, and he waved at several of his neighbors that were already out and about in the early hours of the morning. He used the lightpost to swing himself around the last corner of his journey, jumping onto the welcome mat of the local grocery store right as Oji-san flipped the sign to Open. 

Oji-san grinned down at Yusaku from around his mustache. “Bright and early as always, eh, Yuu-kun?”

Yusaku nodded, his bangs flicking into his face as he did. “Yep! You’ll never get rid of me, Oji-san!” He ran through the doorway, then turned to face the man. “What do you need help with today?” He bounced on his heels, like a kitten that wanted to play.

“I just got a shipment of snacks in today, could you help me count them up before I put them out tomorrow?” Oji-san grinned down at him.

Yusaku was already springing into action. “The paperwork is on the side desk, right?” He slid behind the counter and grasped the door handle, turning back for confirmation before going any farther.

Oji-san nodded, and waved him through. Yusaku weaved between the racks of food and goods that would be put out onto the shelves as they emptied, scrambling up onto a chair to get at the clipboard lying in the center of the desk along the wall. The boxes that had yet to be counted and processed were sitting by the huge back door that the truck unloaded from, a huge pile that was higher than Yusaku was tall. 

A light jump onto one of the lower boxes and Yusaku was reaching into the top one, pulling out as many of the little boxes inside as he could get his hands on. He set them down on another one of the boxes, that he could get at more easily. He wrote down the brand of the snack and what section of the store it would go into, as well as the price, all on the little lines in their columns. Putting the boxes in a bin, he counted up how many of that type of snack there were, and wrote it into the last line. 

Reaching into the high box again, Yusaku started the process over. 

* * *

An hour later, and Yusaku was done with the boxes, and put the clipboard back on the desk. Pattering out the door, Yusaku beamed up at Oji-san, who was at the cash register. “I’m done with the processing, Oji-san!” 

Oji-san smiled back at him, reaching out to ruffle his hair. “Great job! Now we just need to get you the stuff on your list, and you’ll be free to go.”

Yusaku laughed, even as he went to straighten his hair. “I’ll get it myself! I know where it all is!”

He trotted off through the aisles, snatching up a basket from the stack at the endcap to put his items into. One quick lap around the store and he had everything, and came back up to the front. There were a few people in line ahead of him, and he leaned this way and that, each time trying to catch Oji-san’s eye with a silly grin. 

It was fun, and in no time at all it was Yusaku’s turn to check out. He heaved his basket over his head with both arms, teetering to the side before he felt the weight being lifted out of his hands. “Whoa there! Watch your step Yuu-kun.” Oji-san set the basket on the counter, and started scanning the items through.

Yusaku chuckled, scratching the back of his neck with one arm. “Sorry~!” he sang, digging into his pocket for the money for the items.

Oji-san nodded. “As long as you’re careful.” He picked up one of the items and squinted at it before scanning it through. “You’ve got some different stuff in here, Yuu-kun. Running your neighbor’s errands again?”

Yusaku nodded, his whole body bouncing with the motion. “Obaa-san asked me to get a few things for her, since she had an appointment today. She said it was about her back.” 

“Well you tell her that I wish her well, okay?” Oji-san took the money that he held out, punching numbers into the register. “I can’t be losing one of my best customers.”

Yusaku giggled, trying to muffle it with his hand. “I’ll let her know tonight for sure!” He stuffed the change into his pocket and grabbed the handles of the paper bag. “See you tomorrow!” He called as he raced out the door.

The day had gotten brighter while he was inside, and the foot traffic on the sidewalk had increased. He ducked around long legs, holding the handles of the bag up near his chest to keep it off the ground. It was just a few minutes before he walked up the stairs to his family’s apartment, fishing out a key and turning it around in the keyhole.

Yusaku entered the apartment and closed the door behind him, not bothering to call out a greeting as he slipped out of his shoes and into slippers. Silence met him as he walked into the kitchen and over to the fridge. He opened it up and started to load the groceries into it, glancing around the kitchen. There was a covered tray set out at his spot on the table, with a little piece of paper folded next to it. He turned back to his task and smiled at the bag of sweets that Oji-san must have tucked in there, taking them out and putting them in his pocket. Finished up at the fridge he shut it quickly, putting the empty bag in the recycling. 

Picking up the paper as he sat in his chair, he started to read.

> Yusaku,
> 
> I won’t be home for dinner tonight, there are leftovers in the green container in the fridge. Tou-san will be home early, in just one more week.
> 
> Call me if you need anything,
> 
> Kaa-san

Yusaku sighed, and took the cover off his breakfast. A bowl of miso soup and a little rice, nothing unusual. He scarfed it all down as fast as he could, then carried his dishes to the sink. He climbed up onto his stool and rinsed the dishes, using one of his bowls to take a few gulps of water, before setting them over in the dishwasher that was hanging open. 

He let the kitchen, venturing further into the apartment to his room, where he grabbed his backpack and duel disk before ducking back out. One quick stop in the kitchen for the clumsy bento he made last night and he was back outside, locking the door behind him. 

He skipped steps in his haste to get down to the ground level, darting out onto the street in the opposite direction of the shop. There was a gaggle of kids forming at the corner, and he ran right up to them. 

“There you are Yusaku! We were starting to wonder if you ditched us.” One boy called out as he skidded to a stop.

Yusaku gaped at him. “What, I wouldn’t do that! Going to school isn’t the same without everyone!” The other continued to look skeptical, so Yusaku put his hand on his shoulder, forming his face into something that pretended to be serious. “If there’s ever a day when I don’t show up, then something really bad must have happened to me. As long as I can make it here, I’ll walk with everyone in the morning!”

Another child cheered. “Now we just have to get you to walk home with us too instead of helping the teachers all afternoon!”

Yusaku couldn’t help but giggle, playing along. “That’ll never happen so long as I can help it!”

* * *

It was late in the day by the time Yusaku made it to Obaa-san’s house, but he still handed off the couple things she had asked for with a smile. “Oji-san told me to tell you that he hopes you feel better, and that you’re one of his best customers!” He chirped.

“Oh?” Obaa-san squinted as a smile creased her face. “Well that was sure sweet of him. Can you let him know tomorrow that everything seems to be just dandy with me, so I’ll be in later this week?”

Yusaku nodded. “I’ll let him know! Do you need anything else, Obaa-san?” 

A chuckle creaked out of her throat. “No, I do believe that I have everything I need. You run along home, I’m sure your parents are worried about you wandering around so close to dinner time.” She made a faint shooing motion.

Yusaku’s chest tightened. “It’s no problem, they’re fine with it!” They didn’t even know he was gone.

“Now, now. Even if they’re fine with it that doesn’t mean that I am, so go on, now.” She held the door open for him. She set a hand on his shoulder as he passed, and he looked up at her. “This neighborhood would fall apart in a day without you, Yusaku. I hope you realize that everyone here appreciates you.”

Yusaku stopped for a second, then nodded. “I do.” He reached his arms as far around her waist as he could, squeezing her in a hug. “Thank you, Obaa-san.” He pulled back and gave her the biggest smile he could. “I appreciate everyone here too! If I left, I don’t think I’d last a day either.” His steps turned toward the doorway. “Bye Obaa-san! See you tomorrow!”

“I’ll be right here waiting, Yusaku.” She waved to him, as he took off down the street, glancing back occasionally at the figure in the doorway until he turned a corner, and she vanished from sight.

He faced forward, putting a smile on his face as he ran. You never knew when you might see someone you know, but they always deserved a smile.

He was just rounding a corner when he collided with something hard enough to send himself sprawling. “Ow!” He blinked to get his bearings. There was another kid in front of him, who had also been knocked over. “Sorry,” a bunch of Duel Monsters cards were scattered around the ground between them. “Do you play Duel Monsters too?”

“Yeah. You too?” The boy didn’t seem that bothered by being knocked over, instead just kneeling to gather the fallen cards.

“Yep. I love it too!” He handed back all the cards he had gathered.

The other boy seemed really happy about this. “Want to come to my house and look at my deck?”

What a strange question, since his deck was right there and the nearby park had tables to play on, but still… “Sure! We can even duel if you want.” … he didn’t want to go back to that silent house.

Yusaku clambered to his feet, offering his hand to the other boy. “My name’s Ryoken, by the way.” He said as he accepted the hand up.

Yusaku smiled. “Nice to meet you Ryoken, I’m Yusaku!” He shook his hand before letting it go. “I haven’t seen you around before, you’re new around here, right?” He asked as he skipped along.

“I don’t live that close by, I was out on a walk just now.” The other seemed to suddenly be nervous.

Yusaku didn’t want that. “Well then I’ll tell you about all the best places as we walk back to your house, okay?” He grabbed Ryoken’s hand, tugging him along.

That seemed to help. “Sounds like fun!” Ryoken pulled back on his hand as he nearly walked past a corner, and Yusaku followed his lead.

Yusaku couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t think that he would make a new friend today, but it made the day a million times more fun. He couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. 

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave any thoughts, comments, or critiques down below! I love reading them!
> 
> I'm considering making an epilogue to this, what do you all think?
> 
> In case anyone is interested, you can find me over on Tumblr under @yami-kada.
> 
> In the spirit of last year's Vrainsweek, this piece is not beta'd.


End file.
